I want to be careful with how I present to you Queen of Katwe (2016).  My desire to get this right is borne of how special is the film.  To underscore what I am talking about, name the last time a film was set and shot in Africa, and was composed almost entirely of crew and performers from that continent.  If by some miracle you find another example, then add in the fact that it is about a chess champion from Katwe, the poor district of Uganda’s capital, Kampala.  In short, the movie is unique.  Disney produced it because it fits with their typical sports themes of the underdog overcoming long odds.  There are plenty of examples of this from the Mouse, so I will leave it to your own research.  On a personal level, the Christian tones made this one of the more satisfying films I have seen in a while.  As such, I am pleased to bring you this review.

In a sense, Queen of Katwe is a review of the first six years of Phiona Mutesi’s (Madina Malwanga) chess career.  The first scene is her entering a tournament in 2011, unsure of whether she belongs in such a setting.  If you were to go back five years in her life as we next do, you will see the reason for such trepidation.  She lives in Katwe with her mother, Nakku Harriet (Lupita Nyong’o), older sister Night (Taryn “Kay” Kyaze), and two younger brothers.  Night is the defiant one, going out with a boyfriend of whom Nakku does not approve.  To help make some money, Phiona and her eldest brother, Mugabi Brian (Martin Kabanza), sell maize in the street to anyone willing to pay.  While Phiona is more diligent in her vending duties, Mugabi and another friend end up sneaking off to the soccer field where they meet Robert Katende (David Oyelowo).  Robert is a former soccer player (referred to as footballer over there) who helps coach the local boys through a church outreach program.  He has aspirations of getting a higher paid job as an engineer, which is what he was educated to do.  While he awaits a position commensurate with his qualifications, he continues to help out with the children.  When Mugabi and his friend prove too timid to be on the pitch, he introduces them to chess.  Soon, Phiona begins noticing Mugabi walking away from where they usually peddle the corn.  Following her brother, she is soon spotted by Robert shyly looking in through the doorway.  Her introduction to the group referred to as “The Pioneers” is not a good one, with many of the other kids making fun of her for smelling.  She puts up a fight, but to channel that aggression, Robert sets her up to learn to play chess.  That night, she carefully washes up, returning to The Pioneers the next day and continuing her chess education.  When Nakku discovers this new pastime, she is not pleased.  It takes Robert personally intervening for her to believe that her children are not being taken advantage of by the more disreputable characters in Katwe as she sees happening with Night.  Nakku’s approval comes in time for Phiona to be taken to her first tournament on the more developed side of town.  Despite being placed at the top table against the best player in the field, she triumphs and takes home the trophy.  It is the first glimmer of a potentially promising chess career, but it is almost derailed before it starts.  One day while calling to Phiona, Mugabi runs into the street and is hit by a passing motorcyclist.  She uses all the money they have to get him transported to the hospital.  This means they cannot pay the medical bill, forcing Nakku to have to sneak out of the facility before the staff can try to collect.  Making matters worse, upon returning home they find their house locked and the landlord unwilling to let them back in without money.  In short, their family is now homeless, and Mugabi and Phiona can no longer play chess.  Once more Robert takes action, finding them some money to rent a half-completed church as living quarters, which is pretty neat despite its condition in this Christian’s view.  The stability offers Phiona a path back to chess, and she once more begins competing.  The big step comes when the funds are raised for her and a few others to participate in an international children’s chess competition in Sudan, which she also wins.  During one of the matches, she learns that globally recognized masters are paid well for their abilities. Earning this status becomes her goal, even though she acts a little full of herself during this period.  All the same, Nakku sells her family heirloom garments in order to help pay for extra paraffin to keep the candle burning for Phiona to study. Feeling confident, she next heads to Moscow with the Uganda team for the Chess Olympiad.  Upon losing her match, she storms from arena, thinking her dreams dead and that all she will ever be is a Katwe maize seller.  Another disaster hits upon getting home when her home is flooded and Nakku kicks out Night once more despite the oldest daughter being pregnant.  What Phiona needs is time to truly dedicate herself to chess and her studies, so she moves in with Robert and his wife, Sara Katende (Esther Tebandeke).  During this time, it becomes clear that Phiona has surpassed her coach in her chess skills, and he deems her ready to get back into tournaments, this time being a Ugandan championship.  Her victory is celebrated all over Katwe, and it brings her the notoriety she needs to get Nakku the house of their dreams.

It is easy to root for the dreams of people like the Queen of Katwe, Phiona.  If you watch the film and are shocked by the conditions in the title neighborhood, know that they are actually worse in real life.  What strikes this Catholic is how Jesus came from a similar background as Phiona, both going on to do amazing things.  In Jesus’ day, nobody expected a child from Nazareth to be the Messiah, just like few thought a Katwe kid would amount to much of anything.  Though I am making an obvious comparison, what also is Christ-like about Phiona is her humility.  She does have a period where she gets a little full of herself, but at several points she is self-effacing.  Early on, she apologizes for beating her opponents.  When she wins at her first tournament, she wonders if the person she went against let her win.  Then there is the final match when she has to be reminded by Robert that this is where she belongs.  What would have made this all the sweeter is if she had given thanks to God for the blessings she experiences.  That may seem harsh in light of her impoverished background.  Another could look at her circumstances and not see any gifts from God.  This is a non-Christian point of view, and one that does not acknowledge the sanctity of life itself.  At the same time, one should not take this to signify that one should be happy with dire circumstances.  What is important is using the skills with which God imbued you in order to better not only yourself, but others.  Phiona does this for her family, but beyond them, film pumped a great deal of money into the local economy since much of it was filmed on location.  They also employed local actors and crew, which is something not often done for a production such as this one.  This is Christianity in action, which is highlighted by moments of prayer and the fact that The Pioneers are an outgrowth of Christian mission work.  What could be better?

Of course, there are better films than Queen of Katwe.  If there is any knock against it, it is that the pacing slows a bit in some places.  I was able to get through those moments because I genuinely cared about the characters.  That will always be the mark of a great movie.